About X-PERT Health

X-PERT Health is a registered charity, our headquarters are situated in the historic mill town of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire in the north of England. We train Educators, usually healthcare professionals and lay freelancers, to deliver our structured education programmes throughout the UK and internationally to people with, or at risk of diabetes.

Why Was X-PERT Developed?

Dr Trudi Deakin, author of the X-PERT Programme portfolio recognised that routine healthcare was not equipping people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to self-manage their condition. She initiated a series of focus groups to find out what information people wanted about their condition and how this information was best delivered.

The outcome from this exploratory process was that clips of verbal information provided in a clinical setting, even when backed up with information leaflets, were not helping people to successfully manage their condition on a day-to-day basis. People want to understand their condition and they would like visual tools to do this. Group education sessions and educational visual aids were then developed and piloted. Evaluation of these sessions led to the development of the first X-PERT Programme “X-PERT Diabetes”. Based on person-centred needs and wishes, the programme was developed to enable participants to attend one 2.5 hour session per week for six weeks [15 hours in total]. This prevented information overload, supported regular review and reinforcement and enabled participants to obtain the confidence to identify and set goals to develop self-management skills.

The six week group-education programmes do not focus on prescription, dictation and reprimand; instead, it offers a fun way of learning about and understanding diabetes, using visual aids and discovery learning and enabling individuals to make their own informed decisions. The effectiveness of the programmes were evaluated with a clinical trial. X-PERT Health now delivers 3 structured self-management programmes for people at risk of, or diagnosed with, diabetes.

What If You Cannot Attend a Course?

The digital landscape has changed the way people are educated. The X-PERT Health home-based diabetes education programme includes a DVD, a 97-page handbook and optional support/guidance telephone calls - this is available on the X-PERT Health shop. In addition, an E-Learning Programme downloadable app is in the pipeline to appeal to a wider audience and to help those who have mobility issues and cannot physically attend an X-PERT centre.

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About us

Our aim is to ensure that all people at risk of, or diagnosed with, long-term health conditions have access to good quality and enjoyable structured education that helps them self-manage their condition leading to improved health and wellbeing.